Geek Gadgets

I take my laptop on business trips, visits with the family, and even long vacations. As a known computer geek, I am usually called upon during these trips to help someone else fix a computer that's misbehaving, so I like being prepared.

Here's my list of what to bring if you want to have a stress-free computing experience on the road.

	Extra batteries for the laptop. Schlepping an extra battery will buy you two more hours of word processing on the plane. I try to imagine hauling my laptop and components as the substitute for going to the gym on travel days. I also keep a set of AA batteries. Many handhelds require AAA batteries so I try to keep a fresh set in the bottom of my purse.
	Floppy and CD drives. If you bring the floppy and leave the CD, you'll need to install a program via CD. If you bring the CD and leave the floppy, you'll need to transfer a document via floppy. This is a form of Murphy's law.
	Power adapter for a car's cigarette lighter. Many new airplanes have cigarette-lighter power adapters under the seats. I bought an adapter at Radio Shack for $79. There are many types, but I felt most comfortable using the type that converts electricity to a regular, 110-volt, household-type outlet.
	Cat 5 cable I've found myself in hotels that have a strange lamp with an extra phone jack and an rj-45 jack. For a fee, I can plug my cat 5 cable into the rj-45 jack and connect to the hotel's network. Always having an extra bit of cat 5 cable has bought me Internet connectivity four times faster than if I'd left that cable at home.
	Dongle or extra phone cord. Two laptops ago my modem used a dongle to connect to the wall jack. I lost the dongle not once, not twice, but three times. If your laptop modem needs a dongle, order two.
	Mini USB Mouse It looks like a piece of sushi, but the mini-mouse by Atek makes mousing on the road a lot easier. I hate the touch pads on laptops and I sometimes tire of the eraser head pointing devices, so it's nice to have a USB, plug and play mouse on hand. The Atek mouse costs $50, but it is optical and has a great feel considering it's teeny form factor.
	USB networking kit Belkin (and some others) make direct connection USB kits. This elegant way to connect two PCs avoids the instability of DCC and the hassle of setting up an ethernet network. The Belkin kit costs $55 and the software install and configuration are easy. If you needed to share documents or printers while on the road, this is an easy solution.
	Klear Screen cleaner I'm a multi-tasker. While consuming a Cinnabon from the O'Hare Airport food court, I decide to watch a DVD on my laptop. The cinnamon roll is not only huge, but it's unwieldy -- next thing you know, sticky bun on the LCD of my laptop. Warning: don't use alcohol to clean an LCD, the protective oils that coat the screen will be stripped away. I have used the products from Klear Screen, but any specifically identified LCD cleaning towelettes will do.
	Copy of your windows CD with product key. When I first traveled with my new laptop, I shut the cover without shutting down the computer. It wasn't the brightest thing in the world, but who knew it would trash my OS? I couldn't reboot. I was stuck with a seven-pound weight in my bag for the rest of the trip. Even worse, all my contacts thought I'd be available via email, instead I was incommunicado. If I'd had a copy of my windows CD and product key, I could have reinstalled the OS to get back up and running. Your EULA (end user license agreement) allows you to make and keep one backup copy of your windows CD for personal use. I don't like to travel with my original Windows CD, but if you don't have a CD burner, the original is better than nothing.
	Boot disk In the case described above, my computer wouldn't boot into windows, so I needed to boot from my emergency start disk. Once booted, I would have used the windows CD to reinstall my OS if needed. To make a boot/start disk, read this article.
	Tool Kit Whenever I travel, I run into someone having a computer problem. My family saves up computer questions until I show up. So if you are a known computer geek, take a tool kit in case you have to open a case or reset a jumper. Regardless, you look cool when you have a set of tools specifically for computers.

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